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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  15. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  21. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. chair — a leader
  5. march — music
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. march — the month
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cue — a hint
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. bat — the animal
  14. leaves — lets stay
  15. snap — to click
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. rush — to hurry
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. march — the month
  20. cue — for pool
  21. bat — for baseball
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. rush — hurry
  24. pound — a weight

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com